Hebrews 3
June 30
Reading: Hebrews 3
1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses-- as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. 10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.' 11 As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'"
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." 16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
In the book of Hebrews we have now learned that Jesus Christ is the exact representation of God, better than the angels, that He has walked the path of humility and suffering to be to us a better helper. Now in chapter 3 we learn that Jesus is better than Moses.
Clearly, it is to believers that this letter is written. (vs. 1) It is we who need to recognize that, while Moses was a faithful servant who pointed to Jesus, Jesus is the faithful Son to whom the prophets pointed. Jesus is the faithful builder and Moses and all who are called by God are the house that He is building. (like 1 Peter 2:1-10)
In 1 Peter 2:3 we have one of the “if” clauses in the Bible, reminding us that our salvation is dependent upon our response to God’s call. Likewise, in Hebrews 3:6 we have a similar warning. You and I are part of the house of God if we hold fast our hope until the end. In fact, the rest of the chapter serves as a Biblical exposition of the latter phrase of verse 6.
According to verses 7-11 we must hold fast our hope in Christ because the Old Testament people of God who failed to obey God were damned. The quotation here is from Psalm 95:7-11. You cannot call yourself one of God’s people if you harden your heart and go astray. We must heed the warnings found in the Old Testament. In verses 14-19 we are reminded again of Psalm 95:7-11 and warned that God will punish disobedience.
In verses 12-13 we are warned against falling away. Again, our wandering hearts are what is in view. What is the remedy? It is the other believers that God puts around us. We desperately need sincere believers who love Jesus and want to follow Him so that our hearts will not be “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” We need other believers to encourage us and we need to encourage them to keep seeking Jesus.
You can always tell when a Christian brother is wandering into sin. They fall out of fellowship. Get with other believers and keep meeting together. Be sure to have Christians who will speak into your life. It may save you from deception and destruction.